Synopsis:
Heaven was perfect, until they came for his son.
When angel engineer Zak’s infant son is cast down for being born without wings, he faces Heaven’s cruel mandate: forget, or fall. Clipped, Zak plummets to a broken Earth, where false prophets exploit the faithful, drug lords rule dead cities, and every truth comes with a price.
Pursued by ruthless angel hunters through decaying urban wastelands and corrupted mega-churches, Zak uncovers a conspiracy that reaches from Earth’s grimmest gutters to Heaven’s highest chambers. What begins as a father’s desperate search becomes a brutal quest for vengeance that will expose Heaven’s most devastating lies – and make them remember his son’s name.
Review:
A big thank you to the author for allowing me to read an ARC of this book ahead of publication.
Clipped is a story about grief, making mistakes, and seeking the truth, but above all, it’s a story about the lengths a parent will go to in order to protect their child. It’s also a book that poses some questions about religion and faith, and what they’re built upon. (Personally, I really enjoyed that aspect, but I can see how it might not work for some readers.)
The book begins with Zachary (or Zak, as he later becomes known.) He’s an Exalted (basically an angel), imprisoned for the crime of asking questions. His son was born without wings, an imperfection, according to the Heavens, that is unforgivable and must be punished. His son was cast out with the refuse, and Zak was deemed a criminal for asking why. Rather than accept his son’s fate, he chose exile in the hopes of locating his son.
He quickly learned the human world was a mess. Crime was rampant, resources were scarce, and the most powerful people were as corrupt as they come. Zak was faced with thieves, Hunters tasked with apprehending him simply because he is “fallen,” religious zealots, conmen, drug-dealers… The setting overall was pretty bleak, and at times, Zak fell into despair. But there was some good in the human world, when he looked for it hard enough.
Zak wasn’t perfect as a protagonist. He made mistakes along the way and fell into some unfortunate habits, but he was usually driven by a desire to do the right thing—once he knew what the right thing was. The Heaven he was from and the earth he was confronted with were vastly different, so there was a definite learning curve. He made a couple decisions that didn’t fully make sense to me, but overall, I liked his character.
I want to mention that I questioned the genre classification for most of this story. It’s listed as science-fiction, but felt more like dystopian fantasy until almost the end. There’s a big reveal then, and once I read that part, there was no questioning that Clipped is a sci-fi story. And I loved that twist, because I didn’t see it coming. It also answered a lot of questions and tied everything up really nicely.
All in all, Clipped was an excellent story. If dystopian settings, unexpected twists, and a father’s desire to protect his child are themes you enjoy, take a few days to read this book. It will be worth your time.
Clipped is currently available for preorder, and will release May 31, 2025.
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